FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ethiopians Take Three of Four Titles at 2016 Chevron Houston Marathon
& Aramco Houston Half Marathon
Wonderful Wacera Sets All-Comers Record
HOUSTON (January 17, 2016) - A record-setting day saw Ethiopians win three
of four titles, including a sweep of the men's and women's Chevron Houston
Marathon.
Aramco Houston Half Marathon
Kenya's Mary Wacera ran the fastest-ever women's half marathon on American
soil Sunday, moving to No. 9 on the all-time world list as she shattered
the course record with a 66:29 to win the Aramco Houston Half Marathon.
New Zealand's Kim Smith set the previous all-comers record of 67:11 in 2011
at Philadelphia, while the course record of 68:26 was set in 2012 by
Belyanesh Olijara of Ethiopia.
Wacera, who collected $45,000 for her record-setting win, made a move just
after the 15-kilometer mark to take the lead from fellow Kenyan Cynthia
Limo. She established a six-second gap over the next 5K and stretched the
margin to 12 seconds at the finish. Limo's 66:41 moved her to 11th on the
all-time world list.
Last year's world marathon champion, Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia, was also
faster than the existing course record with a 1:07:55 in third, as was
fourth-placer Ruti Aga of Ethiopia, who clocked 68:07. Sara Hall was the
top American woman, setting a lifetime best with her 70:07 in fifth.
Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia ran the third-fastest men's time ever at Houston,
winning by eight seconds with his 60:37. Mosinet Geremew of Ethiopia was
the runner-up at 60:45, and Luke Puskedra took the top U.S. spot in fourth
at 61:29.
Chevron Houston Marathon
What started off as runaways Sunday in the Chevron Houston Marathon by
Poland's Artur Kozlowski and Australia's Lisa Weightman, turned into a pair
of Ethiopian victories.
Last year's men's runner-up Gebo Burka passed Kozlowski after the 35K mark,
making up a 1:01 deficit from 30K as he ran stride for stride with
countryman Girmay Gebru. The duo passed 40K together, and with less than a
half-mile to go Burka pulled ahead and went on to win at 2:10:54. It was
the eighth straight Houston win for Ethiopia.
Defending champion Birhanu Gedefa was third at 2:11:53, and Kozlowski ended
up fifth at 2:14:11. Two-time winner Bazu Worku was sixth.
Kozlowski had a 20-second lead by 10K and added 19 seconds to that over the
next 5K. He passed the half at 1:04:58, more than 50 seconds ahead of the
chase pack that included Daniel Vargas of Mexico along with Gebru and
Worku.
Gedefa was second at 25K, 58 seconds behind the leader, and by 30K he was
1:02 back, just behind Burka, Gebru and Yitayal Atanfu. Over the next 5K
that group cut Kozlowski's margin to 19 seconds, passing him for good just
after that.
Weightman ran alone at the front of the women's race until just before the
30K point, where Biruktayit Degefa pushed past her and pulled away to win
at 2:26:07. Degefa was third last year after a fourth-place finish in 2014,
and she ran the second half of her race in 1:12:20, 1:27 faster than the
first 13.1 miles. Her win was the 10th in a row for Ethiopia.
Degefa was a minute back at the half, running with three other women, but
the quartet made up 15 seconds over the next 5K.
After losing her lead, Weightman dropped back by 27 seconds over the next
5K and fell even farther behind by 40K. She held on to take second at
2:27:35 and 2015 fourth-placer Sechale Dalasa moved up one rung to place
third at 2:28:43.
For more information on the 2016 Chevron Houston Marathon Race Weekend of
Events, please visit www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com.
About the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc.
Established in 1972, the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc. (HMC), a Running
USA Founding Member, annually organizes the nation's premier winter
marathon, half-marathon, and 5K. Over 250,000 participants, volunteers and
spectators make Chevron Houston Marathon Race Day the largest single-day
sporting event in Houston. Race Weekend generates over $50 million in
economic impact for the region annually. In 2015, the Run for a Reason
Charity Program raised $2.5 million and the HMC retained Gold Certification
from the Council of Responsible Sport and was awarded the AIMS Green Award
for industry-leading sustainability initiatives. Host to 16 U.S. Half
Marathon Championships since 2005 and the 1992 women's Olympic Trials
Marathon, the HMC conducted the nationally-televised 2012 U.S. Olympic
Trials Marathon, which featured men and women competing on the same course
simultaneously for the first time, vying for the chance to represent Team
USA at the 2012 Olympic Games.
For more information, visit www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com or call
713.957.3453.
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